Sunday, January 27, 2008

A little over two years ago, I got my first hate mail (actually, harassment mail, I came to find out.) Since then, my husband was the recipient of another such letter, but we didn't even bother to open it; he had also recently written a letter to the editor of the Trenton Times and we recognized the typewritten envelope and the mangled play on our name from my letter.

They come in standard white envelopes. They are addressed using a typewriter. At first glance, they appear to be everyday correspondence.Once the bundle of papers inside are unfolded, though, the recipient is greeted with pages of propaganda strewn with handwritten comments that range from anti-Semitic and bias commentary to racist and religious rants....Leafing through these missives is a scenario that Times readers who frequently have letters to the editor published in the paper have been dealing with since at least 2004.Most of the mailings arrive after their letter is published in The Times, and appear to be one person's work.Some of the mailings, which are unsigned but clearly directed to specific people, have been reported to law enforcement, from local police to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, all without success in finding the sender.

We didn't bother reporting the latest harrasment mail to the police, since there really wasn't anything to be done. Now I kind of wish we had, just to fatten up the file they probably have on this guy.

Note to racist cowards everywhere (including the ones who did this): if you have something to say, have the guts to sign it. If you're afraid to stand behind it, then keep your mouth shut.